Feature: 'Interview - Ritual's Robert Atkins on Console Life, PC Death'

In today's main Gamasutra feature, Howard Wen talks to Ritual Entertainment's president and art director Robert Atkins about his company's history, its current projects (including work on the multiplayer portions of the currently controversial 25 To Life for Eidos), and his views on the future of video game development. As Wen's introduction explains: "'Hired guns' is a more than apt job title for Ritual Entertainment. For nearly ten years, the Dallas, Texas-based developer has built a rep as being the go-to guys when a game needs to ratchet up its multiplayer, or to otherwise add such a gameplay feature. FPSes and third-person shooters are the company's specialty. Ritual has worked alongside other developers on action titles that include 007: Agent Under Fire, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Legacy of Kain: Defiance and American McGee's Alice, yet has also wholly produced its own share of games: Star Trek: Elite Force II, Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2, and the Xbox version of Counter-Strike... Over the past couple of years, the company, which steadily employs about 40 people at any given time, has shifted focus into development for the game consoles; it is where the real money is to be made, after all. As of this writing, Ritual is working with Avalanche Software on 25 To Life, an urban-themed, "cops-'n'-gangstas" action title with gameplay that is being likened as a cross between SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs and Grand Theft Auto III." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).